If you are in the rail corridor and are worried about what this means for your family, business or community, please share your impact statment below.
Please note, this is not the place to make generalized comments about HSR or the ALTO project. Comments may be deleted.
I am writing as a homeowner in Navan, Ontario, to raise concerns regarding the proposed high-speed rail corridor using the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail. My property and the surrounding landscape present four critical technical and environmental constraints that would be severely and negatively impacted by this rail.
Firstly, the land immediately behind my property is part of the Bearbrook/Leda clay deposits characteristic of the Ottawa Valley. This "sensitive" clay is prone to liquefaction and catastrophic slope failure when subjected to the high-frequency vibrations of 300 km/h rail traffic. The instability of the hill supporting my home will be at major risk from subsidence or upwelling caused by the installation of a 60-metre industrial rail right-of-way.
In addition, my residence sits at a significantly higher elevation than what could be the proposed track bed. Standard ground-level noise barriers are mathematically insufficient for hilltop properties, as sound waves have a direct line-of-sight to my living quarters. This would negatively impact the quiet enjoyment of my property, which is one of the main reasons why I bought my land. Furthermore, the area behind my street is a recognized floodplain and marshland. Construction of a raised embankment or solid track bed risks acting as a dam, potentially redirecting groundwater and surface runoff toward existing residential foundations. This would be a huge risk to my property’s drainage and the local water table. Finally, the marsh and floodplain immediately south of my property are known habitats for the Blanding's Turtle (Endangered) and Spotted Turtle (Endangered). High-speed rail corridors, which require continuous security fencing, create a "wall-like" barrier to wildlife movement. This would permanently fragment these turtles' critical nesting and overwintering corridors. This would cause mass mortality and the collapse of local turtle populations.